Westgate
Westgate is the oldest, richest and most corrupt port in the Sea of Fallen Stars. It is an open city that welcomes all races and all religions. Local Lore Westgate's name comes literally from its role as the Inner Sea's "Gateway to the West" the oldest, richest, and most corrupt port offering overland caravan facilities between the Sea of Fallen Stars and the Sword Coast and -by ship from thence- lands south of it, avoiding the mountains, plains, and deserts of Calimshan and the nomad lands. Westgate today is a vitally important, wealthy city of intrigues, high fashion, and striving ambition. A hundred or more years ago, when it was a tiny kingdom, it was also wealthy and marked by intrigues, high fashion, and driving ambition. Folk around the western Inner Sea view it rightly as a cesspool of decadent evil, eager to make financial deals with pirates to leave its ships alone and attack those of other ports, or to arrange shortages and wars to drive prices up. History - 286 DR Year of Foul Awakenings Westgate falls during the course of a single night to a small army of elite mercenaries who emerge from catacombs beneath the city. By morning’s light, King Thorndaer and his entire family are dead, and King Orlak rules over the oldest port in the western Inner Sea region. Until the end of his reign, the Night King holds court only after the sun has set, is never seen during daylight hours, and always keeps his entire face (except his eyes) shrouded with a black-and-white-hatched porcelain mask, leading many to suspect (correctly) that the long-lived monarch of Westgate is a vampire. - 137 DR Year of the Blooded Sunsets A company of paladins from the Vilhon Reach in service to the Morninglord overthrows the Night King. Following the vampire’s destruction, the group’s commander, Dawnknight Gen Soleilon, is crowned king of Westgate. The Radiant King rules wisely for many years, rebuilding Westgate’s fortunes and establishing the Soleilon dynasty. The paladin-king’s most notable accomplishment is the erection of the city’s first stone walls and the construction of an extensive sewer system. Unbeknownst to the general populace, Westgate’s deepest catacombs remain home to at least a dozen vampires created by their former monarch. The undead legacies of Orlak war amongst themselves for nearly a year before a new Night King is chosen to rule Westgate’s underworld. From this day forward, the Argraal of Orlak and the Fangs of the Night King are held by the preeminent vampire “descended” from the original Night King. 383 DR Year of the Quelzarn Tales first spread throughout the city of a sea serpent haunting Westgate’s harbor and sewers. The quelzarn, as the eel-like beast is known, becomes a nigh-legendary denizen of Westgate’s underworld and the favorite subject of bard’s tales. 927 DR Year of the Red Rain As his first official act, King Altarl bans all organized religious activity within the city walls, and all existing temples are torn down, their land seized in the name of the new king. The Templeban Edict extends beyond the city walls as well, permitting only simple shrines within a day's walk of Westgate. In the nine decades that follow, hearkening back to an earlier age, no less than seven rings of standing stones are established on a ring of seven hillocks just beyond the last rise west of Westgate. One such site, the Hill of Fangs, is established by worshipers of Moander. The Abomination's hilltop shrine consists of a ring of eight great red stone plinths shaped like fangs curving inwards. The other faiths include Garagos, Ghaunadaur, Jergal, Savras, Silvanus, and one whose name has been forgotten. Unbeknownst to the general populace of Westgate, secret, subterranean temples are established beneath most or all of the seven hillocks, as well as in the catacombs of the city itself, in direct violation of the Templeban Edict. 1018 DR Year of the Dracorage Early in his reign, King Sarvyn reverses the long-standing royal edict banning temples from the city proper. In the years that follow, numerous temples are constructed in Westgate proper, and the shrines and secret temples west of the city dating back to the Campion Dynasty are abandoned. Over time, the seven hillocks become known as the Shrines of the Seven Lost Gods, even though several of those faiths are still venerated in Westgate. (Curiously, the term ‘Seven Lost Gods’ has its roots in antiquity. It more properly refers to seven demipowers that bowed down before Bane long ago: Maram of the Great Spear, Haask the Voice of Hargut, Tyranthraxus the Flamed One, Borem of the Lake of Boiling Mud, Camnod the Unseen, and two whose names have been forgotten.) 1248 DR Year of the Cockatrice Fed up with the excesses of the monarchy, the noble merchant families of Westgate establish the position of Croamarkh, an elected head-of-state whose term of office lasts four years. House Vhammos occupies the former royal palace shortly thereafter and renames the building Castle Vhammos 1353 DR Year of the Arch The Night Masks, a band of thieves, assassins, and enforcers who operate largely by night, are established by a doppelganger mage known as “the Faceless” and a handful of merchants, who take to calling themselves the Night Masters. 1369 DR Year of the Gauntlet A long-lost stasis clone of Manshoon awakens in the catacombs of Westgate as the Manshoon Wars begin. Prior to his awakening, this Manshoon clone had been abducted and drained by the Night King, a powerful vampire. As a vampire, the Manshoon clone hunts down and kills his creator, becoming the next Night King in turn. The Manshoon clone then sets about rebuilding the Night Masks to serve his ends, leading to rumors in Westgate that “the Faceless” has returned. Category:Metropolises Category:Settlements on the Dragon Coast